Department for Transport

Roads: Greater London

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessmentthey have made of the economic benefits that might be realised if responsibility for roads in London was transferred from the Mayor of London and Transport for London to the Department for Transport.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Strategic roads in London are the responsibility of TfL, with each local authority responsible for its respective local road network. The Government has no plans to amend these responsibilities.

Motorways

Lord Goodlad: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the smart motorway programme.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Government continues to monitor and evaluate the safety performance of all our roads. Following the publication of the Smart Motorway Safety Evidence Stocktake and Action Plan in March 2020, Highways England published the first-year progress report in April of this year. The report demonstrates the significant progress that has been made against the 18 Stocktake actions. The data contained in the progress report confirms that, on average, fatal casualty rates are lower on All Lane Running (ALR) motorways compared with conventional ones. Highways England is accelerating safety improvements to give reassurance to motorists on ALR motorways. By the end of September 2022, it will: install technology on all existing stretches of ALR motorway to spot stopped or broken-down vehicles quickly, six months earlier than planned; upgrade special cameras ten months earlier than planned, so that they can be used to spot; prosecute motorists ignoring ‘red X’ signs and illegally driving down closed lane, putting themselves and others in danger; and install around 1,000 additional approach signs six months earlier than planned, alerting drivers to their nearest place to stop in an emergency.Significantly, Highways England has also made a commitment that no ALR motorways will open without the radar technology to spot stopped vehicles, enable lanes to be closed where necessary and get help to drivers quickly. Work to update The Highway Code to provide more guidance about driving on ALR motorways has also been brought forward and is due to be published this year ahead of schedule, subject to Parliamentary approval.

Customs: Ashford

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of light pollution from the Sevington inland border facility; and whether they plan to reduce the size of this facility given its levels of use.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Department for Transport is aware of concerns raised about the level of lighting at Sevington IBF and has acted to minimise disturbance by turning off the lights in one of the contingency parking areas in the south-east of the site. The Department will be switching off the lighting in the second contingency parking area in the north-west of the site by the end of June. Additionally, we have commissioned a detailed lighting survey to better understand the issue. Once concluded, we will evaluate the findings and recommendations from the survey, and we’ll share an action plan with the immediate affected residents. The Sevington site operates on a 24/7 basis with lighting required throughout the night to ensure the site operates safely. There is no intention to reduce the physical size of the facility, but the business-as-usual operational capacity of the site will reduce. As part of this, the Department will be suspending the use of the two overflow areas from 1st July. However, these areas remain available for contingency traffic management measures should they be required by the Kent Resilience Forum.

Customs: Kent

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government why meetings arranged with relevant councils in Kent on the planned White Cliffs Inland Border Facility have been cancelled; why no such meetings on this planned facility have been held since March; and why the reasons for the cancellation of these meetings have not been explained to local residents and councillors.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Engagement has continued with local representative on White Cliffs. Some specific meetings have been cancelled or postponed, due, for instance, to the normal rules on public engagements in a pre-election period.Activities on the White Cliffs project have, in any case, slowed down because of a Cabinet Office-led review of the Inland Border Facilities in Kent to ensure that modelling and costings were fully explored for any option. We delayed holding a further meeting until there was a substantive update to provide to stakeholders with.

Department for Education

Higher Education: Fees and Charges

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consultations they held with higher education institutions in England before they decided to extend the provision of home fees for students from the Crown Dependencies to all higher education institutions.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the governments of the Crown Dependencies on the allocation of costsfor the extension of home fees to all students and institutions in England before that decision was announced.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: We have updated our regulations to grant home fee status for those students from the Crown Dependencies who meet the residency requirements, and who come to England solely for the purposes of higher or further education study from the 2021/22 academic year. This underpins our strong commitment to the UK’s relationship with the Crown Dependencies.Students from the Crown Dependencies make an important contribution to our universities, and it is testament to the appeal and success of our higher education sector that so many students from the Crown Dependencies choose to come and study here.This decision was communicated to the respective governments of the Crown Dependencies, to the Office for Students, and on GOV.UK in January 2021, before regulations were made in February 2021, and came into force in March 2021.

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners' Release: Females

Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking tosupport vulnerable women leaving prison by ensuring (1) access to housing, (2) access to benefits and employment, and (3) access to health services.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: We are investing more than £20m in supporting prison leavers at risk of homelessness into temporary accommodation. Individuals released from prison will be provided up to 12 weeks of temporary accommodation and will be supported to secure long-term settled accommodation before the end of that 12-week period. Initially launching in five probation regions, the service will support around 3,000 offenders in its first year and will be commencing this Summer. It will be in operation during the financial year 2021-22, with a view to scaling up and rolling out nationally.The service will take account of the needs of women, including those with complex needs, and accommodation provision will be dedicated to single gender usage as required. Community Probation Practitioners, working together with local partners, will be responsible for ensuring that vulnerable female prison leavers receive appropriate support and are provided with housing beyond the 12 weeks’ emergency accommodation.Commissioned Rehabilitation Services are due to start delivery on 26 June 2021 which includes services to assist in accommodation; employment training and education; financial benefit and debt and personal well-being.These provide a holistic service for all women leaving prison by providers based in the community in to which they are released. The accommodation service and mentoring service both start pre-release. The mentoring service aims to support those who lack social support in making the transition from prison to community and to assist in building social networks.

Prisoners' Release: Females

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what specific measureswill be included in the Ministry of Justice’s temporary accommodation service for prison leavers to address the complex needs of vulnerable women.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: We are investing more than £20m in supporting prison leavers at risk of homelessness into temporary accommodation. Individuals released from prison will be provided up to 12 weeks of temporary accommodation and will be supported to secure long-term settled accommodation before the end of that 12-week period. Initially launching in five probation regions, the service will support around 3,000 offenders in its first year and will be commencing this Summer. It will be in operation during the financial year 2021-22, with a view to scaling up and rolling out nationally.The service will take account of the needs of women, including those with complex needs, and accommodation provision will be dedicated to single gender usage as required. Community Probation Practitioners, working together with local partners, will be responsible for ensuring that vulnerable female prison leavers receive appropriate support and are provided with housing beyond the 12 weeks’ emergency accommodation.Commissioned Rehabilitation Services are due to start delivery on 26 June 2021 which includes services to assist in accommodation; employment training and education; financial benefit and debt and personal well-being.These provide a holistic service for all women leaving prison by providers based in the community in to which they are released. The accommodation service and mentoring service both start pre-release. The mentoring service aims to support those who lack social support in making the transition from prison to community and to assist in building social networks.

Prisons: Coronavirus

Lord Lee of Trafford: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many COVID-19 vaccinations have been given to (1) prisoners, and (2) prison officers; and what effect, if any, the vaccinations are having on isolation periods for prisoners in their cells.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: Data on the number of adult prisoners in England that have received Covid-19 vaccinations, as of week ending 4 June, as well as the number of prison officers in Public Sector and Youth Custody Prisons who have declared that they have received their Covid-19 vaccinations, as at midday 11 June 2021, is provided below. StaffAs of midday 11 JuneStaff who have declared that they have received a first doseStaff who have declared that they have received a second doseTotal5,6882,434 Prisoners As of week ending 4 June 2021Population who have received a first dosePopulation who have received a second doseEngland total27,52016,168Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) strongly encourages all staff and prisoners who are eligible and offered the Covid-19 vaccine to be vaccinated as soon as possible. Employees are asked to provide updates onto the HMPPS HR system once they have had each dose of the vaccine. As the disclosure of their vaccine status is voluntary, it means the self-declaration rates presented below will very likely be lower than the actual number of staff who have been vaccinated. This data will help us understand staff vaccination take up and coverage, plan recovery and infection control measures, and inform recovery decisions.Data for prisoner vaccinations has been provided by NHS England who are responsible for the vaccination programme. Please note that figures in relation to prisoner vaccinations change daily due to the level of activity in the vaccination programme across the estate and therefore can only be read as a snapshot on the day they were calculated.Our National Framework for Prison Regimes and Services sets out how we will take decisions about easing restrictions in prisons. Prisons continue to progress through the Stages of the Framework, and vaccination coverage is an important part of the consideration about the necessary degree of restrictions.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Land Mines: Bomb Disposal

Baroness Northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the impact on global landmine casualty rates of reducing funding to humanitarian mine action programmes.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The UK has invested £124million to help clear deadly explosive devices worldwide in the last three years through the Global Mine Action Programme 2. The UK is looking forward to starting phase 3 of the Global Mine Action Programme (GMAP3) in 2022. MAP3 will involve landmine clearance and risk education to help affected communities keep safe, and capacity development for national authorities to help them manage their landmine contamination.

Iraq: Kurds

Lord Austin of Dudley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make a statement on the activities of the British Council in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The British Council maintains an office in Erbil and all of the British Council's cultural relations activities in Iraq extend to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). This includes programmes in arts and culture, education and English. The British Council runs a free digital library service across Iraq, including KRI, and paid education services in online English teaching and face-to-face English language assessment at centres in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah.

South Sudan: Humanitarian Situation

Baroness Northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government what role the United Kingdom isplaying in responding to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in South Sudan; and to what extent this includes the clearance of landmines and explosive remnants of war.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The UK has a longstanding role supporting the most vulnerable in South Sudan through humanitarian support. Our humanitarian programme provides basic services, critical life-saving assistance and support to help people to better cope with the impacts of conflict, drought and flooding. We also support a number of other initiatives to help end the conflict and bring peace for the people of South Sudan.As one of the founding signatories to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, the UK is one of the leading supporters of de-mining action worldwide. In South Sudan, our Global Mine Action Programme 2 is working with partners to remove landmines and ordnances. As of March 2021, UK support has helped make safe 1.8 million square metres of land and provided education on mine risks to nearly 25,000 people.

Arab States: Uighurs

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of the detention of Uighurs in (1) Egypt, (2) the UAE, and (3) Saudi Arabia; and their forced deportation to China at the request of the government of China since 2017.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The UK continues to take a global leadership role in standing up for the rights of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. We have repeatedly called on countries to respect their obligations not to force persons to return to a country where there are substantial grounds for believing they would be in danger of fundamental rights violations.We also encourage all states, including the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, to uphold international human rights obligations. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary discussed the situation in Xinjiang with the Saudi Foreign Minister on 19 May.

South Sudan: Humanitarian Situation

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the humanitarian situation in South Sudan; by how much UK aid to South Sudan will be cut as part of the reduction in the Official Development Assistance budget; how any such cut will represent value to UK taxpayers; and whether the details of any such cuts have been provided to the government of South Sudan.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: According to figures released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 8.3 million people in South Sudan are in need of humanitarian assistance. An estimated 7.2 million face high levels of acute food insecurity (including over 100,000 in famine-like conditions), and 1.4 million children are expected to be acutely malnourished in 2021. The Minister for Africa, James Duddridge, witnessed the dire humanitarian situation first hand when he visited South Sudan with the UK Special Envoy for Famine and Humanitarian Affairs in October 2020.We remain in regular contact with the Government of South Sudan and implementing partners on our assistance programme and any impacts of reductions in ODA. While we are still working through what the reduction to UK ODA means for individual programmes, our aid budget will be allocated according to the UK's strategic ODA priorities: global health security, girls' education, humanitarian preparedness and response, open societies, and conflict resolution.

Africa: Overseas Aid

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they aretaking to support low and middle-income countries in Africa; and what recent assessment they have made of the potential effect of reductions in the UK aid budget on support to those countries.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: Following a thorough review, the FCDO's aid budget for countries in sub-Saharan Africa has been allocated in accordance with UK strategic priorities against a challenging financial climate of COVID. It focuses our investment and expertise on issues where the UK can make the most difference and achieve maximum strategic coherence, impact, and value for money. Impacts on women and girls, the most marginalised and vulnerable, people with disabilities and people from other protected groups were considered.

UNRWA

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the value of the UK contribution to the UN Relief and Works Agency in the last 12 months; and what steps have they taken to ensure that school books for children supplied by the UN Relief and Works Agency do not (1) glorify terrorism, and (2) incite violence and hatred.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: In Financial Year 2020/2021, the UK provided £63.6m to UNRWA, which includes £7million to the Syria Emergency Appeal and £3.8million to the Occupied Palestinian Territories Emergency Appeal. On 20 May, Minister Cleverly announced that the UK is providing an initial £3.2million to UNRWA's emergency flash appeal, which launched on 19 May.The UK Government strongly condemns all forms of violence and incitement to hatred and will continue to monitor UNRWA's implementation of its curriculum framework to ensure lessons taught by UNRWA are in line with UN values. We accompany our support for UNRWA with stringent attention to implementation of their neutrality policy, including how they apply this to textbooks.

Andrei Pivavarov

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government what explanation, if any, they have sought from the government of Russia for the treatment of Andrei Pivovarov, who was arrested on 31 May and subsequently charged with belonging to an ‘undesirable’ organisation.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The UK Government is concerned about the arrest and detention of Andrei Pivovarov. The British Ambassador to Russia raised Mr Pivovarov's case with authorities in St Petersburg on 3 June. We continue to raise our concern about the deteriorating human rights situation with the Russian Government and make clear that Russia must fulfil its international commitments to ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Angola: Convention on Cluster Munitions

Baroness Northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the United Kingdom plans to useits presidency of the Convention on Cluster Munitions to encourage Angola to ratify the treaty.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The UK will assume the Presidency of the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) in September. We will use this opportunity to encourage states to ratify and implement this treaty, including Angola. We are committed to seeing the CCM become a truly global Convention.

Tigray: Food Supply

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Integrated Food Security Phase ClassificationAcute Food Insecurity Analysis May – September, published on 10 June, which found that that in Tigray “350,000 people are suffering from catastrophic levels of hunger”; and what assessment they have made of the call from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations World Food Programme, and UNICEF, for (1) unimpeded access, (2) an immediate ceasefire, and (3) a scaling up of the international response.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The UK shares the concerns outlined in the report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, and alongside 16 partner countries we have called for a humanitarian ceasefire to avert the risk of famine. The Minister for Africa and the UK Special Envoy for Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Affairs, Nick Dyer, discussed this and a need for an enhanced international response with counterparts from G7 and other key donor countries on 9 June.

Jerusalem: Palestinians

Lord Foster of Bath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions, if any, they have had with the government of Israel regarding reports of the forced displacement of Palestinian families in Silwan.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The UK regularly raises the issue of forced evictions from their homes with the Government of Israel. The Fourth Geneva Convention, which applies to all occupied territories, prohibits demolitions or forced evictions absent military necessity. The UK is clear that in all but the most exceptional of circumstances, evictions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. The practice causes unnecessary suffering to Palestinians and is harmful to efforts to promote peace. We monitor the situation in Silwan closely, and officials regularly visited and attend related court hearings. We continue to urge Israel to cease such actions.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Mothers

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Ministry of Defence, in any of its official (1) paperwork, (2) guidance, (3) instructions, (4) manuals, or (5) other documents, (a) has replaced, or (b) intends to replace, the word “mother” with the phrase “parent who has given birth”.

Baroness Goldie: The Ministry of Defence has not mandated the use of such language and there are no current plans to replace the word 'mother' with the phrase 'parent who has given birth' in Departmental paperwork, guidance, instructions, manuals or other documents.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Baroness Wilcox of Newport: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Universal Credit claimants are (1) black, (2) Asian, (3) other ethnic minority, (4) white, (5) male, and (6) female.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: From the latest provisional statistics published on Stat-Xplore, of the 6.01 million people on Universal Credit on 13 May 2021, 2.85 million are male and 3.16 million are female. Universal Credit claimants have the opportunity to complete a survey containing diversity questions, including regarding their ethnicity, however answering these questions is not compulsory and the data available does not reach the threshold to be published.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Bridleways: Tarmac

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that bridle-paths are prevented from being tarmacked.

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to open more farmland and off-road areas for horse riders.

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the danger that cyclists can pose to horse riders; and what plans they have to mitigate this danger on shared routes.

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that there is a connected bridle-ways network for horse riders so that they can avoid roads and the dangers posed by increased traffic.

Lord Benyon: Public rights of way are a local matter and are handled by individual local highway authorities. Local authorities are required to keep a Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP) to plan improvements to their network, which is usually available on the authority’s website. I would hope local authorities, whenever possible, would look at the needs of all users, including walkers, cyclists and horse-riders. Safety must be a consideration in this process. Local authorities receive most of their rights of way funding from central Government through the Revenue Support Grant to deliver various duties, including ROWIPs. It is not ring-fenced and we cannot say how much authorities should spend on ROWIPs. It is up to local authorities to manage their own budgets and decide how much they should spend on their different duties, and for local people to hold them to account.

Home Office

Police: Employment

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many full-time police officers there were in each police force area in England and Wales in 2019.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size and composition of the police workforce in England and Wales on a biannual basis in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)The latest officer numbers were released in the publication covering the situation as at 30 September 2020. Data covering the situation as at 31 March 2020 and previous years are available in open data format here: Police workforce open data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)The number of police officers (full time-equivalent, FTE) in the 43 territorial England and Wales forces as at 30 September 2019 is provided in the table below.Police Officers, England and Wales As at 31 March, 2019ForceFTEAvon & Somerset2,691Bedfordshire1,191Cambridgeshire1,490Cheshire2,010Cleveland1,226Cumbria1,174Derbyshire1,800Devon & Cornwall2,999Dorset1,229Durham1,125Dyfed-Powys1,141Essex3,187Gloucestershire1,119Greater Manchester6,539Gwent1,294Hampshire2,666Hertfordshire2,030Humberside1,901Kent3,548Lancashire2,898Leicestershire1,803Lincolnshire1,076London, City of753Merseyside3,588Metropolitan Police30,940Norfolk1,644North Wales1,505North Yorkshire1,433Northamptonshire1,255Northumbria3,084Nottinghamshire1,925South Wales2,995South Yorkshire2,394Staffordshire1,579Suffolk1,180Surrey1,899Sussex2,647Thames Valley4,206Warwickshire945West Mercia2,129West Midlands6,405West Yorkshire5,168Wiltshire975Total 124,784 While the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin remains the key measure of the size of the police workforce, as part of the Police Officer Uplift Programme, the Home Office also publishes a quarterly update on the number of officers (headcount) in England and Wales. Data are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-officer-uplift-statistics

Police: Employment

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many full-time police officers there were in each police force area in England and Wales in 2020.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size and composition of the police workforce in England and Wales on a biannual basis in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)The latest officer numbers were released in the publication covering the situation as at 30 September 2020. Data covering the situation as at 31 March 2020 and previous years are available in open data format here: Police workforce open data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)The number of police officers (full time-equivalent, FTE) in the 43 territorial England and Wales forces as at 30 September 2020 is provided in the table below:Police Officers, England and Wales As at 30 September, 2020ForceFTEAvon & Somerset2,886Bedfordshire1,300Cambridgeshire1,597Cheshire2,131Cleveland1,373Cumbria1,229Derbyshire1,861Devon & Cornwall3,197Dorset1,268Durham1,168Dyfed-Powys1,183Essex3,318Gloucestershire1,200Greater Manchester6,965Gwent1,340Hampshire2,812Hertfordshire2,152Humberside2,005Kent3,836Lancashire3,031Leicestershire2,053Lincolnshire1,073London, City of811Merseyside3,659Metropolitan Police33,177Norfolk1,684North Wales1,587North Yorkshire1,513Northamptonshire1,343Northumbria3,309Nottinghamshire2,077South Wales3,081South Yorkshire2,574Staffordshire1,681Suffolk1,240Surrey1,993Sussex2,799Thames Valley4,415Warwickshire1,034West Mercia2,256West Midlands6,846West Yorkshire5,391Wiltshire1,019Total 132,467 While the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin remains the key measure of the size of the police workforce, as part of the Police Officer Uplift Programme, the Home Office also publishes a quarterly update on the number of officers (headcount) in England and Wales. Data are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-officer-uplift-statistics

Police Community Support Officers

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask Her Majesty's Government how manypolice community support officersthere were in each police force area in England and Wales in 2020.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size and composition of the police workforce in England and Wales on a biannual basis in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)The latest police community support officer numbers were released in the publication covering the situation as at 30 September 2020. Data covering the situation as at 31 March 2020 and previous years are available in open data format here: Police workforce open data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)The number of police community support officers (full time-equivalent, FTE) in the 43 territorial England and Wales forces as at 30 September 2020 is provided in the table below:Police Community Support Officers (PCSO), England and Wales As at 30 September, 2020ForceFTEAvon & Somerset315Bedfordshire45Cambridgeshire70Cheshire187Cleveland89Cumbria67Derbyshire191Devon & Cornwall188Dorset124Durham129Dyfed-Powys143Essex104Gloucestershire105Greater Manchester552Gwent131Hampshire214Hertfordshire195Humberside166Kent326Lancashire267Leicestershire190Lincolnshire94London, City of5Merseyside189Metropolitan Police1,260Norfolk-00North Wales175North Yorkshire233Northamptonshire88Northumbria178Nottinghamshire160South Wales352South Yorkshire138Staffordshire219Suffolk42Surrey156Sussex275Thames Valley283Warwickshire83West Mercia217West Midlands467West Yorkshire576Wiltshire125Total 9,115  While the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin remains the key measure of the size of the police workforce, as part of the Police Officer Uplift Programme, the Home Office also publishes a quarterly update on the number of officers (headcount) in England and Wales. Data are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-officer-uplift-statistics

Police: Employment

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many police constables there were in each police force area in England and Wales in 2019.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size and composition of the police workforce in England and Wales on a biannual basis in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) The latest officer numbers were released in the publication covering the situation as at 30 September 2020. Data covering the situation as at 31 March 2020 and previous years are available in open data format here: Police workforce open data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Total officer numbers are collected and published twice each year covering the situation as at 31 March and 30 September. Data covering officer rank, however, is collected only once and covers the situation as at 31 March. The number of police constables (full time-equivalent, FTE) in the 43 territorial England and Wales forces as at 31 March 2019 is provided in the table below: Constables, England and Wales As at 31 March 2019ForceConstablesAvon & Somerset2,115Bedfordshire917Cambridgeshire1,155Cheshire1,549Cleveland941Cumbria885Derbyshire1,399Devon & Cornwall2,228Dorset924Durham859Dyfed-Powys841Essex2,425Gloucestershire793Greater Manchester4,960Gwent1,036Hampshire2,080Hertfordshire1,565Humberside1,495Kent2,811Lancashire2,257Leicestershire1,404Lincolnshire800London, City of535Merseyside2,621Metropolitan Police24,235Norfolk1,237North Wales1,104North Yorkshire1,057Northamptonshire896Northumbria2,413Nottinghamshire1,516South Wales2,271South Yorkshire1,860Staffordshire1,186Suffolk920Surrey1,387Sussex2,072Thames Valley3,204Warwickshire614West Mercia1,497West Midlands5,101West Yorkshire4,164Wiltshire754Total 96,084 While the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin remains the key measure of the size of the police workforce, as part of the Police Officer Uplift Programme, the Home Office also publishes a quarterly update on the number of officers (headcount) in England and Wales. Data are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-officer-uplift-statistics

Police: Employment

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many police constables there were in each police force area in England and Wales in 2020.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size and composition of the police workforce in England and Wales on a biannual basis in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)The latest officer numbers were released in the publication covering the situation as at 30 September 2020. Data covering the situation as at 31 March 2020 and previous years are available in open data format here: Police workforce open data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)Total officer numbers are collected and published twice each year covering the situation as at 31 March and 30 September. Data covering officer rank, however, is collected only once and covers the situation as at 31 March.The number of police constables (full time-equivalent, FTE) in the 43 territorial England and Wales forces as at 31 March 2020 is provided in the table below:Constables, England and Wales As at 31 March 2020ForceConstablesAvon & Somerset2,197Bedfordshire998Cambridgeshire1,249Cheshire1,622Cleveland1,053Cumbria939Derbyshire1,472Devon & Cornwall2,328Dorset917Durham876Dyfed-Powys843Essex2,647Gloucestershire896Greater Manchester5,329Gwent1,031Hampshire2,058Hertfordshire1,628Humberside1,549Kent2,985Lancashire2,320Leicestershire1,521Lincolnshire774London, City of547Merseyside2,851Metropolitan Police26,077Norfolk1,275North Wales1,143North Yorkshire1,117Northamptonshire962Northumbria2,481Nottinghamshire1,635South Wales2,262South Yorkshire1,898Staffordshire1,291Suffolk956Surrey1,441Sussex2,150Thames Valley3,337Warwickshire801West Mercia1,717West Midlands5,120West Yorkshire4,363Wiltshire758Total 101,415 While the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin remains the key measure of the size of the police workforce, as part of the Police Officer Uplift Programme, the Home Office also publishes a quarterly update on the number of officers (headcount) in England and Wales. Data are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-officer-uplift-statistics

Police Community Support Officers

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many police community support officers there were in each police force area in England and Wales in 2019.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size and composition of the police workforce in England and Wales on a biannual basis in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)The latest police community support officer numbers were released in the publication covering the situation as at 30 September 2020. Data covering the situation as at 31 March 2020 and previous years are available in open data format here: Police workforce open data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)The number of police community support officers (full time-equivalent, FTE) in the 43 territorial England and Wales forces as at 30 September 2019 is provided in the table below:Police Community Support Officers (PCSO), England and Wales As at 30 September, 2019ForceFTEAvon & Somerset313Bedfordshire51Cambridgeshire73Cheshire194Cleveland128Cumbria76Derbyshire174Devon & Cornwall199Dorset115Durham126Dyfed-Powys144Essex111Gloucestershire106Greater Manchester575Gwent129Hampshire233Hertfordshire209Humberside184Kent300Lancashire248Leicestershire177Lincolnshire101London, City of5Merseyside211Metropolitan Police1,273Norfolk0North Wales191North Yorkshire178Northamptonshire98Northumbria215Nottinghamshire167South Wales365South Yorkshire177Staffordshire211Suffolk42Surrey108Sussex253Thames Valley349Warwickshire83West Mercia225West Midlands436West Yorkshire594Wiltshire144Total 9,292 While the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin remains the key measure of the size of the police workforce, as part of the Police Officer Uplift Programme, the Home Office also publishes a quarterly update on the number of officers (headcount) in England and Wales. Data are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-officer-uplift-statistics

Immigration Controls: Heathrow Airport

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many additional Border Force staff have been mobilised since 17 May to reduce the queueing time at passport control in Heathrow Airport; and what is the average queueing time at passport control on arrival at Heathrow.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Border Force is ensuring that it has the right level of resources to check that passengers are compliant with our border health measures to minimise wait times at the border whilst ensuring we maintain border security and public health.We have taken steps to make sure that there is the maximum number of additional Border Force officers possible to carry out those crucial checks, ensuring compliance with health measures, while minimizing wait time.Since January 2020 to May 2021 Border Force overall workforce has grown by over 290 to a figure of around 9,300 FTE.This is in addition to the return of staff from detached duty and the return of critically vulnerable staff to the front line, as well the capability to deploy resources flexibly across the United Kingdom to deal with any increase on demand.As the Director General of Border Force stated at the Public Account Committee session on the 10th June, the average time this year for anyone travelling through Heathrow has been under 30 minutes.

Treasury

Customs: Kent

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of why the use of the inland border facilities in Kent was less than was predicted prior to the end of the Transition period with the European Union.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The Government has successfully delivered Inland Border Facilities (IBFs) to address the issue of some ports not having sufficient space to develop the infrastructure needed for customs control. The IBF network has been designed to manage peak demand which is expected to be reached in 2022, following the end of staged customs control. The demand forecasts used for planning purposes are based on a reasonable worst-case scenario in order to ensure there is sufficient capacity at IBFs in 2021 and beyond. There are a number of factors which affect demand at IBFs including the overall levels of trade and the number of traders choosing to delay declarations under staged customs controls.

Women and Equalities

Queen Elizabeth II

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Equality Act 2010 applies to the Sovereign in her private capacity; what are the reasons for any exemption; and whether the Government Equalities Office (1) reviewed any exemption during the passage of the Act, and (2) will now review any such exemption.

Baroness Berridge: In common with other legislation, the Equality Act 2010 maintains the long standing principle that it is not appropriate for The Sovereign, personally, to be the subject of legal action in a Court or Tribunal. However, the Royal Household has formal arrangements in place that provide a means of hearing and remedying any complaint that might be raised under the Act.There are no plans to review this position.